Residents of rural community in southern Texas ordered to evacuate as
firefighters battle blaze
[October 30, 2025]
GREGORY, TX (AP) — Thick smoke blanketed a rural community in
southern Texas and many residents were ordered to evacuate as
firefighters worked to contain a blaze Wednesday evening, officials
said.
The Mill Fire in Gregory, Texas, about 150 miles (80.5 kilometers)
southeast of San Antonio, had grown to 15 acres and officials had
contained about 50% of it, according to Heather Gonzales, a spokesperson
for Texas A&M Forest Service.
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This image provided by Texas A&M Forest Service shows an aircraft
contracted by Texas A&M Forest Service dropping fire retardant on the
Mill Fire in Gregory, Texas, Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025. (Texas A&M Forest
Service via AP) |
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Residents across the north end of town were ordered to evacuate
and a shelter was set up in a nearby community center. No
injuries were reported and because of the heavy smoke, which was
creating poor visibility, officials were not able to provide
information on structures burned.
“There is heavy smoke in the area that could pose a health
risk,” Gonzales said. “So we do want to advise people to leave
and avoid the area.”
The weather on Wednesday created perfect conditions for a fire
to spread quickly, with very dry air and wind speeds between 15
mph (24.1 kph) to 30 mph (48.3 kph) in the area, she said. But
by the evening, the fire had stopped spreading and the weather
was expected to improve over the next few days.
It wasn't immediately clear how the fire started Wednesday
afternoon, and officials were continuing to investigate, she
said.
“Ground crews are working on patrolling the area and taking care
of any hot spots that they’re finding," Gonzales said.
CenterPoint Energy, a major utility provider, had temporarily
shut off natural gas service to the city as a precaution,
according to a post on the city's Facebook page.
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